April Showers bring May flowers…AND lots of May awareness “months” and campaigns! Check out the incredible work some of For Momentum’s clients are focused on this May and TAKE ACTION!
• SOS Children’s Villages
• National Stroke Association
• Arthritis Foundation
• FARE
• Novartis
• Prevent Blindness
• March of Dimes
MOTHER’S DAY: CELEBRATE MOMS, EMPOWER WOMEN CAMPAIGN – SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES
SOS Children’s Villages creates stable, loving families for orphaned and abandoned children. It provides mothers who give individual attention and guidance to each child until they become an independent adult. SOS Children’s Villages mothers are raising 80,000 children in over 500 villages across 133 countries, including the US. Through its outreach programs it impacts the lives of over 1 million people each year.
SOS Mothers are the cornerstones of our Villages. On average, an SOS Mother cares for 30 children over the course of her career. They are the source of healing, love and empowerment in our homes around the world.
“When she gives me a kiss before I go to school and holds my hands, I feel good. It makes my whole day happy when I think about it on the way to school. That kiss makes me feel safe, and makes me realize that she really cares for me. I cannot go to school if she doesn’t give me a kiss – I feel there would be something missing.” –Belinda, a 12-year-old girl, lives with her mother and five brothers and sisters on the outskirts of Nairobi. Their 100 square feet house is made of mud and scrap metal
SOS Children’s Villages invites you to participate in its Celebrate Moms, Empower Women campaign. Please use these turnkey resources to help you take action to celebrate the spirit of “mothers,” and honor the important women in your life!
• Send an eCard: Choose from a variety, including some featuring the artwork of children living in our SOS Villages.
• Invite your Stakeholders to Join the Conversation: For every social media action (tweet, retweet or Facebook post) your audience shares related to Celebrate Moms, Empower Women, you can offer to donate $1 to support SOS Children’s Villages up to a total of $5,000 (or other pre-determined maximum). SOS Children’s Villages are happy to help you set up easy promotions (complete with customizable tweets, posts, links and hashtags) that align with your social media strategies.
• Do-It-Yourself Activities: From art projects to a guide to making breakfast in bed. Use these fun DIY pages to show the inspirational women in your life how much they mean to you.
• Support SOS Villages USA: Your financial support will help SOS Children’s Villages continue to build families for children in need and to help these children shape their own futures.
NATIONAL STROKE AWARENESS MONTH – NATIONAL STOKE ASSOCIATION
This year, during National Stroke Awareness Month, National Stroke Association is using videos to raise awareness for risk factors and to educate people about warning signs for stroke.
Did you know that women, Hispanics and African-Americans in the U.S. have higher stroke risks and lower recognition of stroke warning signs compared to any other population? Some risk factors for stroke, such as genetics or family history cannot be controlled. Other risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes can go unrecognized and untreated. This Minorities and Stroke video, available in English and Spanish, educates the public about risk of stroke and the need to act FAST. Please watch it and share it!
Each year nearly 800,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. But up to 80% of strokes can be prevented by controlling risk factors. Learn about the leading risk factors for stroke with this simple tool or through other National Stroke Association Awareness Month resources.
ARTHRITIS ACTION MONTH – THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION
There are many faces of arthritis. In fact, you probably know one or more, because arthritis strikes 50 million Americans. That’s one in every five adults who lives with debilitating pain. Arthritis is not just a disease that impacts seniors; it attacks people of all ages. Two-thirds of people with arthritis are under the age of 65—including some 300,000 children who have arthritis and aren’t able to fully enjoy their childhood.
The Arthritis Foundation urges you to TAKE ACTION during National Arthritis Month to prevent and manage arthritis in your life, or someone you care about, and to join its movement to find a cure.
- Participate in a nearby Walk to Cure Arthritis this month or get festive and puts some bell son your sneakers for an upcoming Jingle Bell Walk/Run.
- Get inspired and informed at ArthrisitToday.org, the magazine and website that provides the most current and trustworthy advice on treatments, fitness and nutrition and daily living tips from the world’s top doctors, medical, and health experts.
- Download the Arthritis Foundation’s FREE Track & React day to day wellness app.
- You can also access resources, tips and tools at your local CVS or at CVS.com/arthritis though its Arthritis Foundation Partner For Better Living program which just launched during Arthritis Month.
- Learn more about how the Arthritis Foundation is focused on preventing, controlling and curing arthritis—and how you can help and make a donation.
FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS WEEK & MONTH – FARE
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) works on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in 13 children in the United States – or roughly two in every classroom.
This year FARE is expanding Food Allergy Awareness Week by declaring the entire month of May as Food Allergy Action Month – a time to take action and make an impact on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies. Our goal in expanding to a month-long initiative is to go beyond raising awareness in order to inspire action so that we can improve understanding of the disease, advance the search for a cure, create safer environments and help people live well with food allergies.
Use this custom Food Allergy Action Month calendar to remind yourself to take one action each day to support the food allergy community. Thank you for getting involved and for making a donation to help save lives.
TUBEROUS SCLEROSIS COMPLEX AWARENESS MONTH – NOVARTIS
Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) has a wide variety of signs and symptoms that may affect different parts of the body, including the brain, kidneys, lungs, heart, and skin.
Over time, existing symptoms may change or new symptoms may develop. That’s why understanding TSC and finding the right specialists to monitor symptoms are so important. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is committed to understanding and improving the lives of people with tuberous sclerosis complex through clinical research, education, and collaboration with the TSC community.
May marks TSC Awareness Month (with TSC Awareness Day on May 15th), a time to raise public awareness of this rare genetic disease that affects up to one million people worldwide, including 25,000 to 40,000 in the U.S.. Learn more and access helpful resources about this rare disease that affects up to one million people worldwide.
ULTRAVIOLET AWARENESS MONTH – PREVENT BLINDNESS
Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating unnecessary vision loss in the United States through education, advocacy, screenings, community programs and research and is the nation’s oldest eye health and safety organization. Prevent Blindness has declared May as UV Awareness Month to help educate the public on the dangers of UV and steps to take to protect vision today and in the future. Because UV damage to the eyes can be immediate and cumulative, it is imperative to learn how to protect sight today. More information can be found here, including a list of eye problems that UV rays can cause.
- Prevent Blindness strongly recommends that both adults and children always wear both a wide-brimmed hat or cap and the proper UV-rated sunglasses.
- Wrap-around sunglasses are best as they protect the eyes and the skin around the eyes.
- There are also many types of sports eye protection glasses that offer UV protection as well. Ask an eye doctor for his or her recommendations.
“It is so important for us to always remember to protect our eyes from UV rays when headed outdoors. And, to consistently provide a good example for our children. By demonstrating the importance of protecting our vision, we can hopefully help save sight for ourselves and for generations to come.” – Hugh R. Parry, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness.
Donate here to give the gift of sight. For more information on the dangers of UV exposure and how to choose the best UV protection, please visit the Prevent Blindness dedicated web page at preventblindness.org/uv
MOTHER’S DAY THROUGH FATHER’S DAY – MARCH OF DIMES IMBORNTO CAMPAIGN
For more than 75 years, March of Dimes has been a leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
imbornto is a national cause marketing campaign that benefits March of Dimes. It taps into the collective hopes, dreams and aspirations that we have for our babies and ourselves. All babies are born to do something great; something special and theirs alone. But they can’t do it on their own. Thanks to your support, March of Dimes can help babies be born strong and healthy.
- You can support March of Dimes imbornto campaign by making a donation or by shopping or donating with imbornto Partners.
- Thank you for asking family, friends and coworkers to join you in starting a conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest using #imbornto and by sharing the imbornto.com website.
- For some behind the scenes insights, check out these previous For Momentum blog posts about the imbornto campaign: Leveraging Cause Marketing for B2B Return on Investment and The Secret to Building Million Dollar Cause Marketing Campaigns
